STATCOUNTER

On your mark. Get Set. Pause.

Even if it turns out to be a cliché, the first time you hear a phrase it sounds, by definition, original to you. So when a business colleague said he often suffered from “Analysis Paralysis,” I thought it was a great combination of words; ones I had never heard before.

Now, if you have been following this blog, you are probably anticipating me going off on a lecture about the danger of clichés and the value of ideas. But actually, to my surprise and yours, I want to make a different point. Analysis paralysis is a variation of “Perfect is the enemy of good.” They will both stop you in your tracks, while you wait for either the perfect idea, or analyze forever all the possible ramifications of your brainstorm.

While you slice and dice your data, and ponder and mull over your concepts, the world goes about its business. Sadly, without pausing for you to catch up. The truth is that you will never have all the information you need to make a perfect creative decision, and even if miraculously somehow you did, by the time you created the ad, brochure or campaign, the parameters will have changed.

A brief pause to re-examine where you are should not lead you to a full stop. It is the grammar equivalent of the difference between a comma and a period.

I am not suggesting you act in haste. But I am suggesting you actually act.